The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridors’ North Carolina Summit is offering an immersive tour highlighting the history of Black churches in Brunswick and New Hanover counties.
Ocean Conservancy’s tool measures impact of litter cleanups
The organization’s new online calculator lets users see how many seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals they’ve helped by removing plastics from the environment.
Carolina Long Bay wind energy firm takes Trump buyout
The Interior Department’s announcement Monday that the developer of wind energy leases off the North Carolina and New York coasts had taken a $1 billion taxpayer buyout rather than proceeding marks a sharp pivot from the company’s previously stated position.
Leland council looks to firm up town’s purchasing policy
The Brunswick County town’s board voted Wednesday to seek Local Government Commission guidance regarding procurement policies related to elected officials amid fallout from an investigation into a council member’s laptop order.
Public comments regarding river basin transfer plan pour in
New issues of concern keep arising as officials in Wilmington and Brunswick County urge rejection of Fuquay-Varina’s plan on file with the state to take more than 6 million gallons per day from the Cape Fear River to meet its growth demands.
NOAA Fisheries considers changing right whale protections
As more than 20 North Atlantic right whale mother and calf pairs prepare to migrate up the U.S. Atlantic Coast, the Trump administration is considering rolling back protections for the critically endangered species.
Restoration plan for lower New River geared to advance
As work on restoring the upper reaches of the exclusively Onslow County river is on track for completion next year, Coastal Carolina Riverwatch is finalizing the Lower New River Watershed Restoration Plan, which looks toward areas where saltwater creeks drain into shellfish waters.
Port plan would have ‘significant adverse impacts’: DCM
N.C. Division of Coastal Management objected to the proposed Wilmington Harbor project to deepen and widen the channel, stating that the Army Corps of Engineers’ review of the project fails to fully evaluate potential impacts to the environment, people and historic and cultural resources.
Amid record growth, groups protect tracts from development
Population growth on the North Carolina coast has ramped up pressure on conservation groups to acquire and set aside land, such as the more than 2,000 acres in coastal counties recently protected from development, areas with natural landscape features that reduce flood risk, improve water quality and provide vital habitat.
Judge upholds that DEQ can set wastewater permit limits
A Wake County Superior Court decision upholds that N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has the authority to set limits of 1,4-dioxane discharges from public wastewater utilities.
Ocean Isle seeks to modify permit, nourish beach at east inlet
Officials in Ocean Isle Beach seek federal approval to have up to 70,000 cubic yards of sand placed east of the Brunswick County town’s terminal groin where erosion gnaws at the shoreline in front of a luxury neighborhood.
Despite judge’s order, communities in 20 states still waiting
Coastal communities in line for announced federal storm resilience funding, which the administration pulled last year and that a judge last month ordered immediately and, permanently restored, are still wondering when the money will come.
Thriving oyster colonies on living shorelines boost protection
While it’s not exactly “build it and they will come,” nature-based shoreline erosion-control structures such as living shorelines offer increased protection when they successfully attract and grow oysters.
Division OKs Corps’ request to pause state consistency review
The N.C. Division of Coastal Management has granted a request by the Corps of Engineers to indefinitely pause the division’s review of whether the proposed project conforms with state coastal management program laws, regulations and policies.
NC State team develops simulation tool for offshore energy
North Carolina State University researchers have created a model that simulates wind, waves, tides and currents to help pinpoint areas best suited for various types of offshore energy generation.
Harbor project may risk Orton, other Cape Fear historic sites
Advocates for and owners of historic sites near the North Carolina Port of Wilmington urge the state to object to a proposed federal project to deepen and widen the harbor to accommodate larger ships.
